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Danielle Smith walked slowly to the podium Saturday evening. Minutes earlier, PC party officials told her she lost the nomination race for Highwood — her riding — to a relatively unknown opponent. The former Wildrose leader, lips pursed, husband by her side, delivered her concession speech — possibly her last as a politician. “The outcome […]

When journalists gathered at Government House in Edmonton on Thursday, they weren’t sure what to expect. Upstairs, the province’s most powerful politicians were meeting with the province’s most powerful public-sector union leaders. There had been so much friction between the two sides the past month, reporters wouldn’t have been surprised if the building suddenly burst […]

By Peter Bowal “This is a government that keeps its word, Mr. Speaker.” So began the debate by Premier Alison Redford on Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2011, on Bill 21 to fix Alberta election dates to every four years. The premier continued: “Albertans want to know there’s going to be an election every four years. We […]

One year ago, Alison Redford’s resignation as premier threw the switch on a political blender that first seemed to slice and dice the Progressive Conservatives into oblivion, but then spit them out in a new form, apparently stronger than ever. The remarkable year has seen the decimation of Wildrose, the opposition party that was 30 percentage points […]

A year after Alison Redford took one of the hardest political falls in Canadian history, she is looking for a new job and coping well with the events of the past year, according to associates of the former premier.

By Ted Morton and Meredith McDonald Former Alberta premier Peter Lougheed is celebrated for his defence of the province during the 1970s, and deservedly so. Then-Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau was a formidable opponent who used the full arsenal of federal powers to redirect soaring energy revenues away from Alberta to Ottawa. It is unpleasant to imagine what […]

Wildrose members left in the lurch by the unprecedented defection of leader Danielle Smith and 10 other MLAs to the Tory government late last year will be the key to determine the party’s future as voting begins Monday to pick her replacement. As contenders Drew Barnes, Brian Jean and Linda Osinchuk vie for the party’s helm, the questions […]

A year ago, an embattled Alison Redford stepped down as Alberta’s fourteenth premier, triggering a breathtaking year of change in Alberta politics. Here are the key developments in a topsy-turvy year which ended with new leaders for every party and radically different power structure in provincial politics. March 19, 2014 — Alison Redford announces resignation after […]

Before Premier Jim Prentice calls an election, let’s look at the long-term PC strategy. The most important component concerns voter support. After the 2008 election, and until last fall, about half the PC voter base supported Wildrose. The Alison Redford-led machine wrote them off and made overtures to the left, with promises of schools and hospitals […]

That the expected 2015 provincial election will be considered “early” is an indication that 2012 wasn’t all that long ago. But for all intents and purposes, it seems like a lifetime ago. Not only have all the four main party leaders abandoned their respective positions, but the issues of three years ago seem to have […]

Cut spending, hike taxes, find a climate-change policy, reform health care, control public-sector pay— Premier Jim Prentice’s core agenda sure sounds familiar. That’s because so much of it was ex-Premier Alison Redford’s agenda, and Ed Stelmach’s before her. In fact, if you consider promises to diversify the economy and sock away cash savings, Prentice is still following […]

A closed-door meeting Friday between Premier Jim Prentice, University of Calgary officials and student leaders did little to quell concerns the Tory government is contemplating the elimination of tuition caps at post-secondary schools.

Senior Progressive Conservatives are drooling at the thought of police Chief Rick Hanson becoming a candidate for their party. “What a catch he’d be!” said one operative, expressing the common view after Hanson announced his resignation for March 13. Nearly everybody on the PC scene assumes Hanson will be caught — to run as a candidate, and then step […]

The CBC ran a story Monday saying Premier Jim Prentice might leave in mid-term to become Prime Minister. As that was going around, Prentice himself was giving an interview in French to the national network of Radio-Canada. Hmmm. In Alberta politics these days, the questions are worth asking. Our politicians seem to see the province as an […]